The Trump administration is redirecting millions in federal education funds toward a new project that critics say is less about civics and more about political indoctrination. Earlier this week, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced that $137 million, initially intended for programs supporting minority students, will instead be channeled into new grants for K-12 schools. These funds are to support a new civics curriculum developed under the 250 Civics Education Coalition, a consortium of more than 40 right-wing organizations.
The initiative, McMahon said, is meant to advance education that “emphasizes a unifying and uplifting portrayal of the nation’s founding ideals” in preparation for the country’s 250th anniversary in 2026.
The effort is not without precedent. In the final months of his first term, Donald Trump unveiled the 1776 Report, a document that sought to redefine the teaching of U.S. history. Education columnist Jennifer Berkshire, writing in The Baffler, explained that the report “was widely panned by actual historians for its worshipful treatment of the Founding Fathers, its downplaying of slavery, and its portrayal of a century-old ‘administrative state’ controlled by leftist radicals.”
The latest project, though still in its early stages, has already raised alarms due to the organizations chosen to shape it. The coalition is being spearheaded by the America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a MAGA-aligned think tank that has received more than $1 million from Trump’s Save America PAC and has been central to staffing his second administration. Until 2023, McMahon herself served on AFPI’s board.
In 2022, AFPI circulated model legislation for a “Civics Course Act,” which demanded that students spend more time studying the nation’s founding documents while banning the teaching of what it called the “defamatory history of America’s founding.” The proposal specifically prohibited the idea that slavery or inequality were in any way inherent to U.S. institutions. It also banned discussion of “systemic racism” and “gender fluidity,” while forbidding teachers from giving students credit for engaging in “social or public policy advocacy.”
Other coalition members reflect similar ideological priorities. Hillsdale College, a conservative Christian institution in Michigan, has promoted its own K-12 curriculum that Vanity Fair noted “has been criticized for revisionist history, including whitewashed accounts of US slavery and depictions of Jamestown as a failed communist colony.”
PragerU, a partisan video platform now producing content for classrooms in several states, is also part of the project. The organization has generated videos claiming climate change is a myth, suggesting European fascism was a “far-left” ideology, and praising figures such as Christopher Columbus and Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee. In addition, its content has argued that Israel has “the world’s most moral army.”
Turning Point USA and its affiliate Turning Point Education will also help shape the new civics programs. The group has openly embraced religious nationalism, with a press release statement saying it was “more resolved than ever to advance God-centered, virtuous education.” The organization’s late founder, Charlie Kirk, had taken public aim at civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., describing him as “an awful person” and calling the 1964 Civil Rights Act “a huge mistake.” After Kirk’s assassination in Utah last week, his group said the tragedy had only deepened its commitment to reshaping education in line with its principles.
The list of partners also includes Moms for Liberty, which has led book banning campaigns and fought to restrict classroom discussions of race and gender, and the Heritage Foundation, whose Project 2025 has supplied much of the Trump administration’s current policy framework.
The Education Department has pledged that the coalition will “spearhead nationwide initiatives to engage students, educators, and communities in conversations about liberty, citizenship, and America’s enduring values.” But critics argue that the actual agenda is to whitewash history and present a narrowly partisan view of civic life.
The shift in funding and priorities comes alongside broader moves by Trump’s administration to reshape the way Americans encounter history. During his second term, Trump has ordered federal museums and parks to remove what he called “improper ideology,” resulting in the erasure of exhibits on Black and Native American history. Just last month, he complained that the Smithsonian Museum devoted too much attention to “how bad slavery was” and ordered a full review of its exhibits. Federal websites have also quietly removed pages that documented the contributions of women, LGBTQ+ Americans, and nonwhite historical figures.
In the eyes of many education experts, these changes cross a legal line. Federal law, in place since 1970, prohibits the government from “any direction, supervision, or control over the curriculum” of public schools. Education historian Diane Ravitch noted in a blog post, “Federal officials are prohibited from seeking to influence or direct curriculum in any way.”
Ted McConnell, executive director of the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, warned that the new initiative undermines the integrity of civic education itself. “Civic education is and must be non-partisan,” McConnell said. “While the funding is long sought, this is the wrong approach and smacks of authoritarianism.”
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